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Intake manager Steve Craddock said the abandoned dogs had had a lucky escape and could easily have gone down with hypothermia or dehydration.

He said: 'Fortunately, they were found in time and - after a drink, a sleep and some TLC - made a full recovery, and now they’re charging about enjoying life with playful puppy enthusiasm.'

Hardy, 40, is a known dog lover and last year wrote an emotional tribute to his dog Woody after the beloved pet died aged six.

The four puppies were recovered by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home after being found crying and shivering in a cardboard box in Victoria Park, Bow, London

The home's intake manager said the abandoned dogs had had a lucky escape and could easily have gone down with hypothermia or dehydration

Emmeline, who like all the pets was named to commemorate 100 years of women's suffrage, is pictured with a foster carer as she prepares for her new home

The only male dog was named Davison after Emily Wilding Davison. After a rest and some care the home said the pets were back to their 'playful puppy enthusiasm'

Hardy is a known dog lover and last year wrote an emotional tribute to his dog Woody after the beloved pet died aged six (pictured together in 2015)

The dog starred alongside him in such productions as Bedtime Stories on CBeebies and had a cameo in Peaky Blinders.

He wrote in June 2017: 'We at home are devastated by his loss I am ultimately grateful for his loyal companionship and love and it is of some great comfort that he is no longer suffering.

'Above all I am completely gutted. the world for me was a better place with him in it and by my side.'

It was also revealed that the four dogs supported by Hardy were named after suffragettes to mark the centenary of women's suffrage.

Emmeline Pankhurst, Lydia Becker and Edith Garrud are all commemorated by dogs with the same first name, while the only male in the pack is called Davison, after Emily Wilding Davison who died at the Derby in 1913.